Chương 5
“Why?”
“Because when the welder came, she thought he was your father.”
“That is not what I asked.”
“I know.”
Sofía crossed one leg over the other, then uncrossed it.
“In January, she walked out at night. Lucía had gone home. I was asleep. Mama crossed the east field in her nightgown and fell into an irrigation ditch. She broke two ribs. The doctor told me she needed supervision. I called three private nursing services. One had no staff in our district. One wanted more per month than the groves earned. The third sent a woman who quit after Mama threw a plate at her.”
“So you made a prison.”
“I locked the exterior doors. Mama smashed a window with a lamp.”
“You could have called me.”
“I did.”
“Not about the window.”
“I left a message.”
“I didn’t get it.”
“You didn’t answer it.”
Elena reached for her phone, then stopped. She no longer trusted her memory of what she had answered.
Sofía continued. “I moved her downstairs. She learned the new locks. I put bells on the doors. She cut them off. I slept on the sofa for three weeks. She poured cooking oil over the stove because she thought ants were inside it. She left the gas open. She accused Lucía of poisoning her. She hid knives in the laundry baskets. She tried to walk to town barefoot.”
“And the cage?”
“The cage was temporary.”
“They all are.”
“I needed two nights to finish the investor agreement. The sale would have paid for full-time care.”
“What sale?”
Sofía’s eyes shifted.
There it was.
Elena sat straighter. “What did you agree to sell?”
“The western groves.”
“How much?”
“Eighty hectares.”
“That includes the workers’ houses.”
“They would be relocated.”
“Where?”
“The company would decide.”
“You signed away the homes of eleven families?”
“I negotiated compensation.”
“With Mama’s power of attorney.”
“Yes.”
“While she was losing the ability to recognize me.”
“She signed in February.”
“After the fall.”
“Before the worst of it.”
“Not Mateo,” Elena said.
Sofía’s face went still.
“What?”
“Mama said not Mateo.”
“That means nothing.”
“You reacted.”
“I reacted because you are interrogating a sick woman and treating fragments like prophecy.”
“What happened in the blue room?”
“Paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“Ask Benítez. He has probably photographed every grocery receipt.”
Sofía stood.
“Where are you going?”
“To speak to the doctor.”
“You’re not taking her home.”
“I know that.”
“You will not be alone with her.”
Sofía turned. “You do not get to return after eighteen months and become the good daughter because you opened one door.”
Elena rose too.
“And you do not get to call abuse exhaustion.”
Teresa stirred.
Both sisters fell silent.
Her eyes opened halfway.
“Sofía,” she murmured.
“I’m here.”
“You look like a banker.”
Sofía gave a small laugh.
Teresa reached toward her. Sofía hesitated only a second before taking her hand.
“Did Elena come?” Teresa asked.
Elena stood two feet away.
Sofía’s face tightened.
“Yes, Mama. She came.”
“Tell her not to be angry.”
“At whom?”
Teresa closed her eyes again.
“All of us.”
The financial crimes investigator arrived that afternoon from the state prosecutor’s office. Her name was Adriana Salgado, and she wore flat shoes, carried two phones, and seemed unimpressed by everyone. She interviewed Elena, Sofía, Lucía, Benítez, and Dr. Valdés separately.
When Elena mentioned the power of attorney, Salgado asked for dates, witnesses, and names.
“I don’t know.”
“Then say you don’t know.”
“I just did.”
“You also added suspicion with your eyebrows.”
Elena almost smiled.
Salgado did not.
“You believe your sister used your mother’s diminished capacity to transfer property?”
“I believe she may have.”
“Why?”
“Because Mama said not to trust the notary.”
“She said ‘not Mateo.’”
“Yes.”
“That could refer to a gardener, a priest, a television actor, or a dog.”
“We had a dog named Chispa.”
Salgado looked at her.
“Sorry.”
“Your sister claims the land sale was intended to pay debts and elder care.”
“She also confined my mother.”
“That is a different investigation.”
“It is the same person.”
“It is still a different allegation.”
Elena leaned forward. “Do you believe her?”
“My belief is not evidence either.”
Salgado opened a folder. “Your sister says you have contributed less than ten percent of your mother’s care expenses during the last year.”
“I sent money every month.”
“She provided transfer records.”
“How much did she spend?”
“We are reviewing that.”
“I can pay more.”
“Can you?”
The question embarrassed Elena more than it should have. Military rank carried authority but not wealth. She had savings, though less than Sofía likely imagined. She owned no house. Her car was twelve years old and currently parked at a base four hundred kilometers away.
“I can take responsibility.”
Salgado rested her pen on the folder.
“That phrase usually means a woman has not calculated the cost.”
“I will.”
“Good. Start with whether you can leave your assignment, where your mother will live, who will supervise her at night, how you will manage medication, whether the house is safe, what happens when she becomes violent, and what you will do if she does not recognize you. Then ask whether your anger has volunteered you for a job your life cannot support.”
Elena felt heat rise beneath the borrowed blouse.
“You think I should leave her with Sofía?”
“No.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying opening a cage takes three seconds. Care takes years.”
The sentence followed Elena for the rest of the day.
Teresa’s scans showed no new fractures. The bruise on her face came from a recent fall, consistent with Lucía’s account. Her dehydration was moderate, her blood pressure unstable, and her cognitive tests suggested significant impairment, though the neurologist would not diagnose dementia during an acute hospitalization.
Dr. Valdés recommended a specialized evaluation and temporary supervised care.
Sofía objected to the private facility he suggested because of the price.
May you like
Elena objected because it was two hours from the hacienda.
The doctor looked from one sister to the other.
